Chapter 3 - THE CUSTODY FILE THAT DESCRIBED A STRANGER
The emergency custody petition described Lauren as unstable, neglectful, financially reckless, and emotionally dangerous.
It claimed she frequently left Adam and Zoe alone overnight.
It accused her of drinking during workdays.
It described an incident in which she supposedly threatened Jason with a kitchen knife.
None of it had happened.
The petition included statements from three witnesses.
Brenda.
Pamela.
And Dr. Stephen Marlow, a family therapist Lauren had never met.
“He evaluated me without seeing me?” Lauren asked.
Agent Maya Chen turned another page.
“He claims he conducted two remote appointments.”
Lauren examined the dates.
On the first date, she had been attending Zoe’s school conference.
On the second, she worked late at her office with eight colleagues present.
The false evaluation was not simply preparation for court.
It was part of a broader pattern.
Everett Family Services had submitted similar petitions in seven divorces involving contractors connected to Jason’s law firm.
In each case, one spouse was portrayed as unstable.
Custody shifted.
Property moved.
The supposedly unstable spouse later accepted a smaller settlement to regain access to the children.
“Jason used custody as financial leverage,” Ruth whispered.
Maya nodded.
“He may also have used Northstar money to pay the witnesses.”
Walter looked toward the children’s room.
“What happens now?”
“For now, the current custody order remains. Jason has visitation rights unless a judge modifies them.”
Lauren’s blood ran cold.
“He cannot take them.”
“We will request emergency restrictions.”
“But until the order is signed?”
“We place security here.”
Lauren hated the idea of uniformed officers outside the apartment, but she hated the thought of Jason reaching the children more.
At noon, Jason’s attorney arrived at the federal office.
Her name was Caroline Voss, a senior partner at the law firm where Jason worked. She had represented defense contractors, corporate executives, and politicians.
She also knew Walter.
The moment they saw each other, both froze.
“Caroline,” Walter said.
“Colonel Bennett.”
Lauren noticed the title.
Walter rarely used it after retirement.
Caroline requested private conversation with the investigators. Maya refused to exclude Lauren because the evidence involved her finances and custody.
Caroline examined the Northstar documents.
Then she looked at Jason through the interview-room window.
“He told us these transfers came from a private infrastructure trust.”
“You approved them?” Maya asked.
“My firm reviewed some.”
“Which ones?”
Caroline listed five companies.
Norbridge.
Everett Family Services.
Hocking Ridge Development.
Pamela’s trust.
And a firm called B&R Recovery.
Lauren recognized the initials.
Brenda and Rachel?
No.
There was no Rachel in this family.
B&R stood for Bennett and Reeves, a company originally founded by Walter and his military colleague Thomas Reeves after retirement.
Walter had sold his share thirteen years earlier.
Thomas died soon afterward.
The company was later acquired by a holding corporation represented by Jason.
Walter sat straighter.
“What did Jason use B&R for?”
Caroline turned pale.
“He submitted claims for bridge-repair equipment.”
“Which bridges?”
“Northstar sites in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.”
Walter shook his head.
“Those repairs were completed fifteen years ago.”
The missing funds were being justified through duplicate invoices for equipment that no longer existed.
Jason had access to the old engineering records because Walter once kept copies in the family home.
“Did he steal your files?” Ruth asked.
Walter remembered Jason helping clear the attic two years earlier. He said he was organizing family archives.
Instead, he copied project documents, signatures, and equipment serial numbers.
Jason’s fraud depended on his father’s reputation.
That revelation hurt Walter more visibly than the shoved shoulder.
“I taught him how public contracts work,” he said. “I thought he wanted to understand my career.”
“He wanted your credentials,” Maya replied.
Caroline asked for a recess.
Then she did something unexpected.
She withdrew as Jason’s counsel.
“There is a conflict,” she said.
“What conflict?” Lauren asked.
Caroline looked at Walter.
“Thomas Reeves did not die from natural causes.”
The official report said Thomas suffered a heart attack while driving.
Caroline possessed a sealed letter written before his death. Thomas suspected someone had reopened Northstar accounts using his authorization.
He planned to report it.
Three days later, his car crashed.
Walter’s face hardened.
“Why didn’t you give the letter to police?”
“Thomas sent it to my firm under privilege. Our managing partner ordered it archived.”
“Who was the managing partner?”
Caroline looked toward Jason’s interview room.
“Jason’s mentor, Franklin Shaw.”
Franklin had trained Jason in corporate law and introduced him to defense contractors. He was also Brenda’s uncle.
The affair had not simply begun between attorney and assistant.
Brenda’s family was tied to the scheme before Jason met her.
When agents searched Franklin’s office, they found it empty.
His computer had been wiped.
A private plane registered to his wife had departed Cincinnati that morning.
Its passenger list included Franklin Shaw.
One unknown male.
And two children.
Lauren’s hands began shaking.
She ran to the bedroom.
Adam and Zoe were gone.
The security officer outside had been replaced during a shift change by a man using valid federal credentials.
The window stood open.
On the table lay Zoe’s drawing.
Someone had added a black airplane above the colorless father.
May you like
Jason had used the custody operation as cover.
While everyone focused on the money, his partners had taken the children.
